As we reported before, German sportscar maker Gumpert is preparing an all-new model called Tornante designed and developed by Touring Superleggera to be unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. Now they released the first teaser shot of the car showing a very elegant design incomparable to the Apollo!
The image shows a very unique front-end and probably gull-wing doors. If you look close enough you’ll notice that the doors are pretty much the same as they are on the Mercedes SLS. Of course there is also a possibility that the Tornante features the same doors as Ford GT, but gullwings are more likely because they are now fashionable! Even the new Pagani Huayra is using them.
Gumpert Tornante will feature a V8 engine and a a carbon fiber monocoque chassis. Details of the car are yet to be revealed.
UPDATE: Gumpert released an statement confirming the car’s gullwing doors an the fact that it’s powered by a 4.2 liter 700-hp engine:
The international stage of the 2011 Geneva Motor Show will witness an extraordinary world premiere. TOURING SUPERLEGGERA will unveil its design concept for GUMPERT. The GUMPERT TORNANTE by TOURING is a static style model projected and engineered to match a new central engine chassis with V8-powered driveline. The Tornante is scheduled as an addition to the GUMPERT model range as of 2012.
In the development of the 2-seater coupe, TOURING was commissioned a design adding elegance, space and comfort to a package rooted in motorsports and competition engineering. The result aims at opening a new class with attributes of superior efficiency, performance and pleasure: the Fast Tourers.
The car’s performance and dynamic properties generated tight constraints for the designer. While respecting aerodynamics, ground effect, engine and brakes ventilation, special attention was given to comfort and ergonomics. From two fairly different perspectives, GUMPERT and TOURING share the philosophy to remove everything that is not essential. Hence the shape is clean, efficient, and well-balanced. Innovative proportions were achieved in the rear section. A typical feature is the gull-wing opening of both the doors and the wide rear hood.
Featuring composite body panels over a light chrome-molybdenum steel space frame with carbon fiber monocoque, the Tornante aims at lightness and torsional stiffness. This principle mirrors the original Superleggera construction method patented by Touring in 1936.
The Tornante has the genes of the GUMPERT apollo and inherits its impressive V8 Biturbo engine. The 4.2 liter unit delivers 700 HP in the basis version. The drivetrain is also an apollo derivative, featuring as standard for the sake of comfort the TT40e gearbox with paddle shift control. The built-in double-wishbone suspension scheme from the apollo is adjusted to the requirements of the Fast Touring mission profile. Alongside the basic version, an alternative powered Tornante is also planned for 2012.
